Cockpit Deptford has occupied a 1960s council building next to the water at Creekside in south London since 2002, but a £3.24 million refurbishment by Cooke Fawcett Architects has given it a new lease of life. Demand for studio space is higher ever, according to Jonathan Burton, CEO of London’s Cockpit Studios. For nearly 40 years, Cockpit Studios has housed craftspeople from more than 20 disciplines in subsidised studio spaces in Bloomsbury and Deptford, so it’s good news that the new headquarters has just opened in the latter.
The organisation and its new base now house 60 studios instead of 40, a new café, woodworking and leather working hubs and a craft garden created by British designer Sebastian Cox.
Cockpit Deptford: step inside the new headquarters
A revamped leather-working hub, an education space and a new exterior mural complete the picture. Created by Cockpit resident artist Amber Khokhar, the mural depicts the colourful, multicultural history of Deptford: a safety-pin tile is an homage to Sid Vicious, who lived here; a record reminds us that Northern Soul was given its name in SE8. Bobbins, knives, pencils and rope – all tools of the trade – lie within.
The new craft garden features plants that are used in the making process – willow in basketry, flax and madder in natural dyes. Rubble beds are made from the waste from the refurb and Cox’s first outdoor tables and chairs are a good spot to sit and have a coffee from the new Spring Café.
The privilege of being a Cockpit resident is 24-hour access to the site and ample outdoor yard space in which to make noise, create dust and receive deliveries. The whole space invites greater public interaction, crucial given all the makers rely on selling their work. ‘Creating an open, dynamic space which the public could see into but not necessarily enter was one of the main challenges,’ says Francis Fawcett.
Cockpit Deptford is unveiled just in time for its Open Studios. Taking place over two weekends in June, visitors can go behind the scenes in Deptford and at Cockpit’s sister site in Bloomsbury and buy directly from more than 175 makers, among them wood sculptor Eleanor Lakelin, whose solo exhibition opens at Sarah Myerscough Gallery this month.
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